Basketball Journey Of Calvin Hermanson

Picture of Gaels — Picture via @saintmaryshoops

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The next player in my Basketball Journey series is 6’6″ Calvin Hermanson who played forward for the Saint Mary’s College Gaels in Moraga, California in the WCC in NCAA DI. I was the team manager of The Master’s University Mustangs in Santa Clarita, California in the GSAC in NAIA DI from 2010-14 and Casey Trujeque was a point guard on the Mustangs at that time. He and Calvin have worked together in the offseasons.

During his time with the Gaels, Calvin averaged 9.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks while shooting 47.8% from the field, 42.5% from deep and 77% from the free throw line per game.

He scored 1,300 points, grabbed 342 rebounds, dished out 99 assists, had 60 steals, blocked 27 shots and made 254 threes as a member of the Gaels.

He averaged over 10 points per game, scored over 380 points, grabbed over 100 rebounds, dished out over 20 steals and made over 70 threes in 3 of his seasons with the Gaels.

In sharing his journey with me, Calvin wrote, “I grew up in Lake Oswego, Oregon, playing my high school ball at Lake Oswego High School. I was Gatorade state player of the year my junior and senior year. I played my AAU ball with Clutch Players, where I began getting recruited by D1 programs like Oregon State, Utah, UC Santa Barbara, Saint Mary’s College and more. I chose to go to Saint Marys because of their winning culture, and the relationships I was able to build with the coaching staff.

At SMC, I redshirted my freshman season to focus on building my body for the college level. After putting on 20 pounds of muscle, I played limited minutes my second year. Before my redshirt sophomore year, our team graduated a lot of seniors, leaving a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of my class and the class above me.

For the next three seasons, we built a core group that would break the season record for wins in SMC history three years in a row (29, 29, 30). I played in the NCAA tournament my redshirt junior year in 2017, where we beat VCU in the first round and lost to Arizona (led by Lauri Markenen and Alonzo Trier) in the second. While having so much success at SMC, I grew quite frustrated with the NCAA selection committee. We got snubbed two out of those three years and ended up playing in the NIT. I finished my college career second in 3 point FG’s made in school history, as well as a handful of All Conference awards.

My senior year I was invited to play in the inaugural 3X3 college tournament. Days before the Final Four, I represented the WCC in the new up and coming sport of 3X3. We went 3-1 in the tournament and earned a total of $3,000 for getting 3 wins. Later that spring, I played in another 3×3 tournament, where I got to play against one of the top 3×3 teams in the country. And again after my first year as a pro, I played in the Hoopfest 3×3 tournament in Spokane, and placed 3rd. I love 3×3 and believe I will continue to play in tournaments in the off season.

After college I decided I wanted to play professionally because I want to play this game I love as long as my body lets me. After a draft workout with the Golden State Warriors, I was told I wasn’t athletic enough for the NBA. While I wasn’t necessarily expecting to make it to the NBA, it was a great experience to work out in front of NBA coaches. I ended up signing to play in Palencia, Spain. There I had a solid first season, averaging 11ppg and shooting 43% from 3.

I recently played in Jonkoping, Sweden, where I averaged 12ppg and 44% from 3 before the season was canceled just before playoffs because of the coronavirus. I am hopeful to keep my journey going as long as I can stay healthy. You can find me avoiding a desk job and using basketball to see the world. “

Thank you for reading my work on The Cannon Network. With The Cannon Network I bring you stories from every level of basketball. I have had coaches, players and team managers share advice and their journey in the basketball world with me.

I have been making info graphics teams, coaches, players and team managers. I managed an NAIA team and worked with every level of player. Managing my college team led me to study every level of basketball and I enjoy writing about every level including NAIA, NCAA, NCCAA, USCAA, JUCO and Canadian basketball.

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